Two new articles from eMazzanti provides an overview of a new network security threat known as BYOD—Bring Your Own Device--–the trend of employees using their own computers and smart phones for use at work

BYOD: Right or Risky?
As business becomes more mobile, tablets and smartphones are taking an active role in the technology shift. BYOD (bring your own device), where employees use their personal devices to complete work tasks, is becoming common practice—sometimes sanctioned and sometimes under-the-radar. It’s inevitable that people will want to consolidate devices and make work as easy as possible, but can a tablet or smartphone really be used as your primary computing tool?

For workers who need to be on-the-go, smartphones and tablets can truly increase overall efficiency. Employee productivity increases, and so do budgets. But before a company can reap these benefits, there are some risks and considerations to recognize, especially when employees are using their own smartphones and tablets, instead of ones provided by a business’s IT team:

◦Device variety: There’s a large menu of operating systems and hardware options, which makes it difficult for IT to focus on securing a single platform.

◦Outdated firmware: Many consumers don’t generally keep current on their firmware, which disables basic operation and other functions of the device.

◦Network authentication: Lost or upgraded personal devices still carry potentially sensitive company information that you won’t want floating around.

◦Mobility issues: Tablets and smartphones are susceptible to theft or loss, and can get expensive to replace.

◦Data plan misuse: When adding tablets into budgets, data plan costs are often forgotten. Most users will go over their plan, and generally it’s from personal use (e.g., streaming movies or browsing the internet).

How to Mitigate Risks
The eMazzanti article’s main point to better BYOD-security is for the business owners to have a specific plan in place.

“Our advice to businesses is to proactively create a BYOD security plan and not wait until a data disaster happens first,” notes Jennifer Mazzanti, president, eMazzanti Technologies. “A well-qualified IT expert should be able help develop a comprehensive plan.”

About eMazzanti Technologies
With a company name that sounds more like a purebred, high-performance sports car than a IT support and consulting firm, eMazzanti Technologies is all about delivering powerful solutions such as outsourced IT, managed print services, PCS DSS compliance, computer network management, network troubleshooting, business continuity and disaster recovery, green computing, mobile workforce technology, information security, cloud computing, cloud computing services, and business information optimization in the most efficient manner possible. The Hoboken, N.J., firm is located in one of the most densely populated - and competitive - regions in the U.S. It provides business technology consulting services for companies ranging from home offices to multinational corporations throughout the New York metropolitan area. For more information contact: Carl Mazzanti 201-360-4400 or emazzanti.net., Twitter: @emazzanti , Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies.